Temperature control for feeding cans



Dec. 25, 1951 JACKSON 2,579,925

TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR FEEDING CANS Filed March 22, 1946 1 13 aw/E3010W E W/ Gnome-gs Patented Dec. 25, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICETEMPERATURE CggROL FOE. FEEDING George F. Jackson, Baltimore, Md.,assignor to Continental Can- Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a

corporation oi New York.

Application March 22, 1946, Serial No. 656,309

4 Claims. (CL 22670) at a desired degree of heat. Itis important tointerrupt the filling operation in the event the fluid cools and whenthat occurs it is essentialto arrest the feed of the empty cans to thefilling machine, so that cans will not be filled and sealed. at atemperature below that. required to. properly preserve the contents ofthe sealed can.

An object of my invention is to provide simple and, efiectlve means tocheck the feed of empty cans to the filling machine as soon as theliquid in the latter cools below the normal temperature.

A further object or my invention is to carry out the above purposewithout stopping the operation of filling those cans which have alreadybeen delivered to the turret of the filling machine.

A still further object of my invention is to efiect the stoppage oi thecan feed when the liquid: in the bowl the filling machine is depleted.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description.

In many instances, filling machines are designed to be stopped wheneverconditions in the bowl make this desirable. Such conditions may bedepletion of the supply or its cooling. When the filling machine is thenstopped, there are of course a number of. filled or partially filledcans on the filler turret and ahead of the sealing machine. It isobvious that if these cans were allowed to stand, the contents wouldcool and, if subsequently sealed at a temperature lowerthan normal, theproduct would spoil. Under the aforementioned condition, it has been thepractice for the operator to remove the filled cans and return theircontents to the filler-bowl or it these cooled cans have inadvertentlybeen sealed, the. operator removes the sealed cans. from the line sothey will not pass into storage with, other cans. which were sealed atthe proper temperature. It frequently happens that the operator cannotdistinguish these cans from those that have been filled and sealed atproper temperature.

My invention is designed to avoid such a situation. I have arranged tocheck the supply of the empty cans without, however, interfering withthe completion. of filling those. cans which have reached the turretofthe filling machine.

In order to illustrate the. invention, 1. have shown the preferred formon the accompanying drawings in. which:

Fig. l. is a diagrammatic view partly in vertical section of theimproved temperature control as used with a filling machine and. itsassociated can feed, and

Fig. 2A is a view in elevation, somewhat enlarged, of the can stopmechanism itself.

The stop mechanism is shown as employed in connection with a machine forfilling and. closin cans. The empty cans are led into a chute whichdischarges the cans one atter another, onto a timing mechanism which.delivers the cans to the filling machine in spaced relation to eachother. This timing mechanism is so constructed that it receives the cansfrom the chute in. horizontal position and turns the cans as they aredelivered to the. filling machine into a vertical position ready to befilled. In this way the cans are presented below the bowl of the.filling. machine and are in position to receive. measured quantities ofliquid from the bowl in the usual manner.

The general arrangement of the can chute and means for controlling thedelivery of; the cans by reference to a low level condition in the bowlof thefilling machine. is shown in the Ayars patent granted November 14,1944, No. 2,362,792.

In my present arrangement the stoppage of the can feed is controlleddirectly from a drop in temperature in the bowl of the filling machine.This drop in temperature-may be due to the cooling of the. liquid in.the bowl. It. may also occur when the level of the liquid goes below adesired minimum. Related to this. is a provision by which the supply ofheated liquid to the bowl is maintained normal. Departure from thenormal rate of supply itself may thus be the cause for arresting. thefeed of cans-from the chute.

I have illustrated a filling machine turret B which. is the customarybowl 8 to hold the hot liquid during the operation of filling a seriesof empty cans;

The hot liquid is supplied through teed pipe I and this, in turn,v iscontrolled by a valve 8.

A temperature responsive element 8 is supaovaoas 3 ported in the upperpart of the bowl 8 at a desired level. The element 9 is intended to beplaced above the low level III of liquid and below the normal high levelII as indicated by the dotted lines.

The temperature responsive element may, for example, be a thermostatoperating through an expansive fluid.

Valve actuating means i 2 is provided in association with the valve 8and is controlled from the thermostat 9. The operation is such that thevalve is normally closed. This condition exists when the element 9 issubject to the surrounding or proximate heated liquid in the bowl 6.This would normally be represented by the high level ii. If, however,the liquid falls to the level it below the element 9, valve 8 is openedand added heated liquid is supplied until the element 9 is submerged andthe valve closed.

The supply of empty cans to the turret is provided by a combinedconveyor and righting device I! similar to that shown in the above Ayarspatent. The device i3 receives cans i4 singly from the bottom of avertical chute l5. One wall ii of the chute I5 is vertically slotted toprovide a passageway for a movable stop means.

The side wall I9 has a bracket I! on which the sto mechanism is mounted.The stop mechanism comprises a star wheel I8 of thin metal plate havinga recessed periphery corresponding to the curvature of the cans to befed. The star wheel I8 may be replaced by another of similar design butdifferent size when the size of the can is varied. The curvature of thestar wheel is notched at l9 for engagement with a latch.

The star wheel is mounted for free rotation upon a fixed shaft 20extending horizontally from the bracket l1.

Above the star wheel l8, bracket i1 carries a solenoid 2|. This solenoidhas a center plunger or armature 22 which forms a drop latch. The head23 of the plunger is enlarged and has a vertical face to engage thenotches l9 of the star wheel.

The plunger 22 is drawn up by the energized solenoid until it restsagainst the usual limit stop 24.

When the head 23 drops by gravity into a position opposite a notch I9 ofthe star wheel, it is supported by means of a transverse pin 25 which itcarries and which contacts a fixed rest 26 extending out from thebracket.

A second temperature responsive element 21 is suspended near the bottomof the bowl 6 subject to the temperature of the liquid. This element isalso preferably operated by expansive fluid. This fluid is deliveredthrough an appropriate fine tube 28 to a pressure-operated electricswitch 29. Switch 29 is in an electric circuit 30 connected to a sourceof electricity, preferably alternating current. The circuit 39 alsoincludes the winding of the solenoid 2|. During normal operation, theelement 21. due to the maintenance of normal temperature in the bowl 6keeps the switch 29 closed and the plunger 22 retracted in the solenoid2i. Under such conditions, the cans I 4 drop in succession through thechute l5 and through the righting means i3 where they are successivelyup-ended and delivered to the turret 9 for filling. The star wheel I 8rotates freely with the cans as they fall through the chute.

When, however, an abnormal condition of temperature develops in the bowl8, the element 21 responds to the fall in temperature and opens switch29. Deenergization of the solenoid 2| allows the plunger latch to dropuntil pin 29 is stopped by rest 29. In this position as shown in Fig. 2,the head 23 of the plunger 22 engages 1 with the completion of thefilling and sealing of the cans with the liquid therein at the desiredtemperature.

The sole purpose of element 9 is to maintain the level of the liquid inthe bowl within desired limits. The element 9 is selected so as to beresponsive to temperatures approximately 40 to 50 lower than the normaltemperature in the bowl. the level II is reached, even though thetemperature of the liquid in the bowl is below the normal temperature,thus preventing the overflow of the bowl when this low temperature wouldcause the element 21 to operate and cut off the flow of cans to thefiller. The temperature of the liquid under these conditions is thenbrought up to normal again by manually closing a switch 32 in a circuitincluding a heating element 3| immersed in the bowl.

From the above description it will be manifest that'simple and effectivemeans have been provided for momentarily arresting the feed of emptycans to a filling machine dependent upon drop in temperature in theliquid supply bowl. The operation is ositive. However, the normal feedis resumed immediately upon restoration of the bowl contents to thedesired heated condition. While the preferred form has been illustrated,minor variation in design and arrangement can, of course, be carried outwithout departing from the scope of the invention defined in thefollowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a filler bowl for liquids,'a feeder for placing cansbeneath the bowl, a chute for delivering cans to the feeder, a stop forcans in the chute, a temperature responsive element inthe filler bowland a latch for the stop actuated by said element on an abnormal drop inthe temperature within the filler bowl.

2. In combination,a filler bowl for liquids, a valved liquid inlet tothe bowl, a temperature responsive element in the filler bowl, meansactuated by said element for opening and closing the valve of the inletwhen the level of vthe heated liquid varies within desired limits, afeeder for placing cans beneath the bowl, a chute for delivering cans tothe feeder, a stop for cans in the chute, a second temperatureresponsive element in the filler bowl, a latch for the stop, and meansactuated by said second named responsive element on an abnormal drop inthe temperature within the filler bowl to engage the latch against thestop.

3. In combination a filler bowl for liquids, a feeder for placing cansbeneath the bowl, a chute for delivering cans to the feeder, a stop forcans in the chute, a gravity operated latch for said stop, a temperatureresponsive element in the filler bowl and means actuated by the saidelement on an abnormal drop in the temperature Therefore, the valve 8will close when wlthin the tiller bowl to release the latch forengagement with the stop.

4. In combination a. filler bowl for liquids, a feeder for placing cansbeneath the bowl. a chute for delivering cans to the feeder, a stop forcans in the chute, a gravity operated latch for said stop. a temperatureresponsive element in the filler bowl and a relay circuit for holdingthe latch out of engagement with the stop but actuated by the saidelement on em abnormal drop in the temperature within the filler bowl torelease the latch for engagement with the stop.

GEORGE F. JACKBON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

6 UNITED s'rxms PATENTS Numrer Name Date Johnson Nov. 24, 1914 MorrisSept. 22, 1925 Fink et a1. Mar. 8, 1932 Smalle Oct. 10, 1933 WaterstoneSept. 4, 1934 Troyer a--- Dec. 4, 1934 Troyer Dec. 4, 1934 Kaufman July25, 1939 Ayers Nov. 14, 1944

